Adjustable driving mount



June 13, 1961 H. SELLE ETAL ADJUSTABLE DRIVING MOUNT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 3, 1958 05 2/ a e uH/ R Z m 1U r m o .N m N 3 J H ms 1 WHH G a u 1Se M m/ m, HWM m 2 mm MM m k, m K 3 A. w P. B J O 2 W FIG.I

June 13, 1961 H. SELLE ETAL ADJUSTABLE DRIVING MOUNT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 3, 1958 FIG.6.

1N VENTORS I Helnz Selle BY KlousJLirgen Schulze fl AGENT.

June 13, 1961 H. SELLE ETAL 2,987,936

ADJUSTABLE DRIVING MOUNT Filed Dec. 3, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN FW VII/ I/ WWW. VII/ll a| Sin 2 BM W 890 FIGJ 89 INVENTORS.

AGENT.

June 13, 1961 H. SELLE ETAL 2,987,936

ADJUSTABLE DRIVING MOUNT Filed Dec. 3, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS: H 2 Sell Y K s J'dr Schulze AGENT.

United States Patent 2,987,936 ADJUSTABLE DRIVING MOUNT Heinz Selle and Klaus-Jiirgen Schulze, Nordhausen (Harz), Germany, assignors to VEB Schlepperwerk Nordhausen, Nordhausen (Harz), Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Dec. 3, 1958, Ser. No. 778,031 Claims priority, application Germany Apr. 22, 1958 13 Claims. (Cl. 74-493) Our present invention relates in general to driving mounts on which are mounted the various controls to operate a tractor, a combine, or a similar automotive vehicle. More particularly, this invention relates to vertically adjustable driving mounts.

Driving mounts of this type comprise a generally cylindrical casing or turret ca-rying the various driving controls. Heretofore, this casing could have its height increased only by the insertion of a multi-part intermediate piece between the driving mount and the gear-box cover which supports it. If it was desired to raise the height of such driving mount, it had to be unfastened from the gear box and lifted by extraneous means such as a hoist, whereupon the parts of the interposed spacer had to be connected to both the gear box and the driving mount.

Although the steering, gear-shifting, clutch, brake, and other control elements built into a driving mount Were adapted to be telescoped, it was necessary to disengage each telescoping control element by loosening a clamping sleeve and then subsequently retightening it after the height adjustment of the driving mount had been made. Such driving mounts needed to be provided, therefore, with access hatches to allow these adjustments to be made within the casing. For these reasons, the height adjustment of a driving mount of the character discussed involved a great amount of assemblage work which required at least two persons for its accomplishment.

An object of this invention is to provide an adjustable driving mount for a tractor or the like which may be easily raised or lowered by a single person using suitable accessories such as mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic lifts.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved telescoping control elements for adjustable driving mounts which may be locked together in difi'erent relative positions without requiring access to the inside of the driving-mount casing.

An important feature of our invention is the provision of a driving mount for tractors and the like wherein an upright cylindrical casing, together with one or more elongated control members rising therewithin, can be telescoped to a number of predetermined heights. These control members may include, for example, a gear-shift linkage which must transmit both rotary and axial movement. Thus, the releasable coupling for this linkage must be effective for torques as well as thrusts and, according to another feature of our invention, comprises a pair of telescoped tubes and an actuating rod axially displaceable within the inner tube, this rod controlling one or more coupling elements which are forced outwards from the inner tube by a relative axial displacement between this tube and the rod to enter into frictional or positive engagement with the outer tube so as to lock the two tubes together. This arrangement allows a gear-shift lever on the inner tube, extending above the driving-mount casing, to be rotated about 180 so that the gears may be shifted in the conventional manner when the driver is facing and driving in reverse. At the same time, the action of the steering wheel may be reversed and the drivers seat displaced accordingly.

In order to insure the proper adjustment of the gearshift linkage, a shift-lock mechanism is advantageously provided at the lower end of the outer tube. This mecha- Patented June 13, 1961 ice nism, pursuant to a further feature of the invention, may comprise several profile disks assembled one above the other so that a pin carried by the lower portion of the outer tube will follow only certain predetermined combinations of axial and radial movements, blocking any other displacement of the tube.

Still another feature of this invention is the provision of an adjustable thrust coupling without rotary entrainment, for the telescoping elements of one or more control members, such as the brake-control and clutch-control rods. This coupling may comprise several outer and one inner coupling elements (or vice versa) provided, respectively, on the control rod proper and on a surrounding outer tube. When such control rod is rotated through a certain angle (e.g. an inner coupling element such as a shoulder in the tube disengages a co-acting outer coupling element such as a pin to allow the control rod to be moved longitudinally within the tube whereupon another rotation of the control rod causes engagement of another pin with the same shoulder (or of another shoulder with the same pin) to resecure the control rod within the outer tube.

Many additional objects, advantages, and features of our invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through our improved driving mount, taken on line 1-1 of FIG. 3, showing the mount in an extended position in combination with a rackand-pin-ion lift mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through the driving mount taken on line 22 of FIG. 4, showing the driving mount in a lowered position in combination with a hydraulic lift mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section through the driving mount taken on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through the driving mount taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line -55 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 7 is a side view, partly in section, of a telescoping clutch-control linkage forming part of the mount of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 8 is a side view, partly in section, of a telescoping brake-control linkage forming part of the mount of FIGS. 1-4;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section through a first embodiment of a telescoping gear-shift-control coupling adapted to be used in the mount of FIGS. l-4, shown in its uncoupled position;

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section through a second embodiment of a telescoping gear-shift-control coupling adapted to be used in the mount of FIGS. 1-4, shown in its coupled position;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section through a third embodiment of a telescoping gear-shift-control coupling;

FIG. 12 is a vertical section through a gear-shift head adapted to be used with the couplings of FIGS. 9-11;

FIG. 13 is a vertical section through a modified gearshift head;

FIG. 14 is a side View, partly in section, of 'a gear-shiftlock mechanism adapted to be used with the system of FIGS. 9-13; and

FIG. 15 is a horizontal section through the gear-shiftlock mechanism taken on line 1515 in FIG. 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gear-box cover 20 has an outer casing 21 secured above it. The outer casing 21 has a lower extension 23 protruding rearwardly. This rearward extension 23 is shown on the right in FIG. 1 and on the left in FIG. 2 because the driving mount is rotated in the latter from the position shown in FIG. 1. Slidably mounted to telescope vertically within the outer casing 21 is an inner casing 22 in which are journaled a brake shaft 24, an accelerator shaft 25, and a clutch shaft 26. Together, casings 2 1 and 22 form a turret of adjustable effective height. The shafts 24, 25, and 26, which are raised and lowered with the inner casing 22, pass through the elongated opening 27 formed on either side of the outer casing 21 to have corresponding pedals, one of which is shown in dot-dash lines at 126 in FIG. 3, selectively attached to their outwardly projecting ends either directly or through linkages, whereby the pedals can be operated in the accustomed manner for both forward and reverse 'driving. The outer casing 21 is girdled by the upper set of flanges 28' and 28 and by the lower set of flanges 3t) and 30". These sets of flanges form grooves 29 and 31 in which a clamping ring 128* may be alternatively secured by means of a clamp 121 to support an upwardly extending arm 122 and a drivers seat 123. This drivers seat may be secured in front of or behind the driving mount, depending on the direction of travel; clearly, the vertical adjustment of the seat may be made even more flexible by the provision of additional flanges for the ring 120 between the grooves 29 and 31.

In FIG. 2, a steering wheel 36 is shown removably fixed to the top of an upper steering shaft 33 which extends vertically through a cover 37 spanning the top of the inner casing 22. A stud shaft 32 also projects upwardly from the cover 37 and is coupled to the adjacent upper steering shaft 33 for inverse rotation through a pair of meshing gears 34 and 35. Thus, when the direction of travel is reversed, the steering wheel 36 may be transferred from the upper steering shaft 33 to the stud shaft 32. As the position of the drivers seat will also be reversed, a rotation of the wheel 36 in a given direction turns the vehicle in the same sense Whether going forwards or backwards.

FIG. 2 also shows a hydraulic cylinder 38 from which there extends a plunger 39ybearing on the brake shaft 24. When hydraulic fluid or air is forced into the cylinder 38, the plunger 39 will rise to thrust the inner casing 22 upwards. Although the plunger 39 is shown for the sake of simplicity as bearing on the brake shaft 24, it may be adapted to act on any transverse member spanning the inner casing 22.

FIG. 1 shows a pinion gear 41 mounted on a shaft 42 which may be turned by a suitable power takeoff from the engine of the tractor or other vehicle carrying the driving mount. Pinion gear 41 engages a gear 44, on a shaft 43, which meshes with a rack 45 formed on a vertical plunger 46. Plunger 46 is slidably secured by its lower end in the gear-box cover 20 while its upper end bears on the brake shaft 24. Therefore the power takeoff of the engine may rotate the meshing gears to raise and lower the inner casing 22. Many other suitable mechanisms and devices may be adapted for this same purpose. For example, a hand-turned screw jack could be substituted for the plunger 46 and its associated gears or for the hydraulic cylinder 38 and its plunger 39.

As is further shown in FIG. 2, the upper steering shaft 33 is journaled in the cover 37 of the inner casing 22 and extends downwardly to telescope within a tubular lower steering shaft 48. The bottom of the lower steering shaft 48 extends into a standard coupler which transmits the rotary motion of the shaft 48 to the steering mechanism of the vehicle. The upper portion of the lower steering shaft 48 is slidably journaled in a horizontal partition 51 formed in the inner casing 22. The splined end 49 of the upper steering shaft 33 extends into a corresponding internal profile formed along the length of the tubular lower shaft 48. Thus the steering shafts 33 and 48 are always secured to rotate together by the engagement of the splined end 49 within the shaft 48 as the inner casing 22 is raised or lowered and the steering shaft 33 slides within the tubular shaft 4'8.

FIGS. 1-4 show the relative positions of the brake and clutch linkages within the driving mount. It is to be noted that the clutch linkage acts as a tie rod to pull upwards on a bell crank 53 in FIG. 2 while the brake linkage acts as a thrust rod to press down on a lever 54 in FIG. 1.

The construction and operation of the clutch linkage is shown-in detail in FIGS. 5 and 7. The clutch shaft 26 is rotated counterclockwise as the clutch pedal, which is either fixed to oneend of shaft 26 or positively coupled with the other end of this shaft while being freely swin'gable about the corresponding extremity of brake shaft 24, is pressed by the foot of the driver. Fixed to the shaft 26 is a fork 55 which extends past a circumferential groove 56 formed on a tubular upper clutchcontrol rod 57. A portion of the fork 55 extends into the groove 56 so that theupper clutch-control rod 57 is raised by the fork 55 as the clutch pedal is pressed. The top of the upper clutch-control rod 57 terminates in a smaller-diameter solid shaft 58 which is rotatably and slidably journaled in the cover 37. A small lever 59 extends radially outward from the shaft 58. A stud 61 engages a longitudinal grooveformed in the shaft 58 to prevent any unintentional relative rotation of the upper clutch-control rod 57 and its extremity 58 while allowing them to be moved upward by the pressing of the clutch pedal.

Extending from the bell crank 54 through the gearbox cover 20 to telescope within the tubular rod 57 is a lower clutch-control rod 63 carrying a number of transverse pins 64. As best shown in FIG. 5, one of these pins 64'overlies two arcuate shoulders 65 formed in a lower portion of the upper clutch-control rod 57 to lock to it the lower clutch-control rod 63. Thus, pressing the clutch pedal raises the upper clutch-control rod 57 and the lower clutch-control rod 63 to pull upward on the bell crank 54, against the force of its restoring spring 124, and throvs out the clutch of the vehicle carrying the driving mount.

When the height of the driving mount is to be changed, the stud 61 is backed out of the longitudinal groove 61? and the shaft 58 with the entire upper clutch-control rod 57 is rotated 90 by means of the actuating lever 59. The upper clutch-control rod 57 is rotatably jonrnaled in the horizontal partition 51 of the inner casing 22 to allow this rotation which aligns two diametrically opposite longitudinal channels 66 of rod 57 with the pins 64 so that the lower clutch-control rod 63 and its pins 64 may now be vertically moved within the upper clutchcontrol rod 57. When a desired new height or position of the driving mount is reached, the upper clutch-control rod 57 is rotated back 90' to let another pin 64 come to rest on the arcuate shoulders 65. Then the stud 61 is run into-the longitudinal groove 60 to prevent any accidental unlocking of the clutch-control rods 57 and 63. Therefore, the driving mount-may be vertically displaced between different positions whose spacing corresponds to that of the pins 64 on the rod'63.

FIGS. 6 and 8 show the brake-control linkage which functions .in the same manner as has been described for the clutch-control linkage, except that the brake pedal rotates the brake shaft 24 clockwise to force downward a tubular upper brake-control rod 70 by means of a fork 78. This forcesa circumferential groove 74 of the lower brake-control rod 71 andalso the rod itself downwards upon'lever 53, depressingthe latter against the action of its restoring spring 125, whenthe pins 76 abut the undersides of arcuate shoulders of rod 70. 'FIGS. 6 and 8 show the upper and lower brake-controlrods 70 and 71 unlocked so that the driving mount may be raised or lowered. The upper rod 70 is shown rotated by its actuating lever 72 engaging a solid shaft 73 attached to the top of the rod 70 and journaled'in thecover 37, so that thepins 76 no longer engagethe shoulders 75 but are aligned with longitudinal "channels 77 of rod 70 to allow the upper and lower brake-control rods 70 and 71 to be displaced into a new relative axial position.

A telescoping gear-shift linkage, particularly illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 9-15, comprises a shift-arm support 80 which is rotatably mounted in the cover 37 and has a tubular upper shift rod 81 extending concentrically through it. A shift arm 82 is pivotally mounted at 83 on an extension 83 of support 80 and is releasably attached to the bifurcate upper end of the upper shift rod 81 by a bolt 84. Therefore the shift arm 82 may be moved up or down to pivot about its fulcrum 83' and move the upper shift rod 81 within the shift-arm support 80 and the cover 37. The upper part of the upper shift rod 81 has formed on it several circumferential grooves 86 into which a small helical spring 87 forces a ball 88 to index the upper shift rod 81 in a selected vertical position. In addition, the upper shift rod 81 may be rotated by a swinging of arm 82, the entire shift-arm support 80 being rotatably mounted in the cover 37 and rotatively coupled with the upper shift rod 81 by the retractable bolt 84. Concentrically located within the upper shift rod 81 is a locking rod 89 which is prevented from moving upwards by the shift arm 82 when 82 is secured by the bolt 84.

As shown in FIG. 9, the lower end of the upper shift rod 81 terminates in a solid portion 90 which is bored out to allow the tapered lower end 91 of the locking rod 89 to enter a transverse rectangular channel 92. A compression spring 93 bears on a collar 94 of the locking rod 89 and upon the top of the solid portion 90 to urge the locking rod 89 upward. Within the rectangular channel 92 are several radially displaceable bolt elements 95 with inwardly disposed, upward sloping camming surfaces 85 so positioned tha a downward movement of the locking rod 89 will thrust the bolt elements 95 outwards. The lower portion of the upper shift rod 81 telescopes within a tubular lower shift rod 96 which contains at vertically spaced locations several sets of rectangular peripheral openings 97 into which the bolt elements 95 may be forced to lock the upper and lower shift rods 81 and 96 together, A rubber sleeve 98 is fixed about the lower shift rod 96 about each set of openings 97. Protrusions 99 extend from the inner surface of the rubber sleeve 98 into the openings 97 to contact the ends of the bolt elements 95 and urge them inwardly out of the openings 97. Thus it can be seen that, when the shift arm 82 is secured in place by the bolt 84, it holds the locking rod 89 down to urge the bolt elements 95 outward into the rectangular openings 97 to lock the shift rods 81 and 96 together. When they are interlinked in this manner, the shift rods 81 and 96 can transmit both radial and axial motions.

Operation When it is desired to raise or lower the driving mount, the bolt 84 is removed and the shift arm 82 is thus released to allow the compression spring 93 to raise the locking rod 89. Then the inward projections 99 of the sleeve 98 force the bolt elements 95 inward within the upper shift rod 81 to disengage it from the lower shift rod 96. At this time the driving mount may be raised or lowered as the lower shift rod 96 is slidably and rot-atably journaled in the partition 51. In the new position, the locking rod 89 may be forced downward to compress the spring 93 and force the bolt elements 95 outward to engage another set of rectangular openings 97 in the lower shift rod 96.

If the direction of travel of the vehicle is to be reversed and the drivers seat is to be moved to face the new direction of travel as has been described, the upper and lower shift rods 81 and 96 may be disengaged and the entire shift-arm support 80, the shift arm 82, and the upper shift rod 81 may be rotated through 180 and resecured in this new position by means of the same set of rectangular openings 97. This feature allows the driver to shift gears with the same motions regardless of the direction of travel.

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the coupling of the upper and lower shift rods 81 and 96. Here the bolt elements a are adapted to receive a caliper spring 100 which extends downward through a vertical slot 101 in the extremity 90 of rod 81 to urge the bolt elements 95a inwards. FIG. 10 shows the locking rod 89 depressed to force the bolt elements 95a outwards to couple the upper and lower shift rods 81 and 96.

FIG. 11 shows a third system whereby the upper and lower shift rods 81a and 96a may be releasably coupled. In this embodiment the gear-shift head is advantageously altered, as shown in FIG. 13, to allow the locking rod 89a to be drawn upwards by a nut 102 which is turned about a threaded portion 103 of the rod. The lower end of the upper shift rod 81a terminates in a split portion containing a conical cavity 104. When a conical element 105 is drawn upward by the locking rod 89a into" the cavity 104, it separates the resilient jaws 127', 127 of the upper shift rod 81a to lock it within the lower shift rod 96a. To prevent the locking rod 89a and the conical element 105 from rotating while the nut 102 is being tightened, a key 106 and a keyway 107 are provided. The telescoping gear-shift linkage of FIG. 11 allows continuous adjustment to an infinite number of vertical positions. Naturally, the modification of the gear-shift head shown in FIG. 13 may also be used with the embodiments of FIG. 9 or 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom of the lower shift rod 96 terminates in a rod 110 which extends into the vehicle gear box through the gear-box cover 20 to perform the actual shifting of the gears in the transmission through a further linkage not shown. To avoid improper axial and/or radial motions of the rod 110 in the shifting of the gears, a gear-shift lock, generally designated 111, is provided.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 14 and 15, the rod 110 may carry a collar 112 to limit its downward motion into the gear-shift lock 111. A transverse limit pin 113 is fixed to the rod 110 within the gear-shift lock 1111 which consists of a top and a bottom member 118 and 119 having a stack of spacers 114- alternating with limit disks 115 bolted between them. The limit disks 115 have arcuate recesses 116 which allow the limit pin 113 to rotate with the rod 110 a specific number of degrees when the limit pin is at the correct level. A series of small radial cuts 117 in the spacers 114 allow the limit pin 113 to clear these spacers with a straight axial motion of the rod 110 only when it is in the correct angular position. Thus this gear-shift lock 111 is a simple yet effective means to insure that the rod 110 will only make the proper motions to shift the gears and will be unable to move beyond predetermined limits to do damage to the transmission when the gear-shift rods '81 and 96 are uncoupled during the raising or lowering of the driving mount, such uncoupling being suitably carried out with the pin 113 lodged in one of the recesses 116 to prevent any axial entrainment of rods 96 and 110 by the tubular member 81.

Operation When the height of this driving mount is to be adjusted, only the following simple operations need be carried out. The studs 61 and 74 are backed off, the rotating levers 59 and 72 are rotated 90, and the bolt 84 is removed from the bifurcate upper end of rod 81 to release the shift arm 82. Then the inner casing 22 is moved to the desired new level and the rotating levers 59 and 72 are turned back 90, the studs 61 and 74 are taken up, and the shift arm 82 is resecured with the bolt 84.

The accelerator shaft 25 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 has not been shown connected to any control linkage of either the thrust-rod or the tie-rod type as was the brake shaft 24 and the clutch shaft 26. Either type of control linkage could be added to be activated by the rotation of the accelerator shaft 25. Any number of other controls can be added to this driving mount, using telescoping control linkages of the types described.

While this invention has been disclosed with particulan'ty in the'best forms known, it will nevertheless be understood that these are purely exemplary and that modifications in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts, and substitution of equivalents, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, except as it may be more particularly limited in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a driving mount for automotive vehicles, in combination, a turret of adjustable eifective height, a base supporting said turret, a control rod of adjustable length rising within said turret, said control rod including a lower member and a tubular upper member telescopically engaging each other, an elongated link member rising within said upper member, locking means near the lower end of said upper member engageable with said lower member for transmitting axial and angular motions of said upper member to said lower member, bearing means engaging the upper end of said upper member with freedom of relative axial motion, said bearing means being rotatably held in a top portion of said turret, an operating arm pivotally mounted on said bearing means for swinging movement about a horizontal fulcrum, and fastening means releasably securing a part of said arm to said upper end in a position in which said arm engages the top of said link member and maintains the latter in a predetermined axial position relative to said upper member wherein another part of said link member holds said locking means in engagement with said lower member whereby the members of said control rod slide and rotate as a unit in response to a swinging of said arm about said fulcrum and about the axis of said rod, respectively, said link member upon release of said fastening means being axially displaceable in said upper member for disengaging said locking means from said lower member.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said lower member is tubular and surrounds said upper member in the region of said locking means, said lower member being provided at axially spaced locations with peripheral cutouts, said locking means comprising a radially movable element supported on said upper member for camming displacement by the bottom end of said link member into any said cutouts aligned therewith, said control rod being provided with resilient restoring means tending to move said element inwardly from the engaged cutout upon an upward displacement of said link member.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said lower member is provided with an external annular recess in the region of each of said cutouts, said restoring means comprising a contractile sleeve lodged in said recess and provided with an internal projection entering the corresponding cutout from without.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said lower member is tubular and surrounds said upper member in the region of said locking means, said lower member being provided at axially spaced locations with diametrically opposite pairs of peripheral cutouts, said locking means comprising a pair of radially movable elements supported at diametrically opposite locations on said upper member for camming displacement by the bottom end of said link member into any said cutouts aligned therewith, said control rod being provided with resilient restoring means tending to move said elements inwardly from the engaged cutouts upon an upward displacement of said link member.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said restoring means comprises a single spring engaging both of said elements and urging them toward each other.

6. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said bearing means comprises a sleeve rotatable within said top portion independently of said upper member, said arm upon release of said fastening means being rotatable with said sleeve about said upper member into a diametrically opposite position in which said part of said arm is again securable by said fastening means to said upper end.

7. In a driving mount for automotive vehicles, in combination, a turret of adjustable effective height, a base supporting said turret, a gear-shift control rod of adjustable length rising within said turret, said control rod including a lower member and a tubular upper member telescopically engaging each other, an elongated link member rising Within said upper member, locking means near the lower end of said upper member engageable with said lower member for transmitting axial and angular motions of said upper member to said lower member, a sleeve engaging the upper end of said upper member with freedom of relative axial and angular motion, said sleeve being rotatably held in a top portion of said turret, an operating arm pivotally mounted on said sleeve for swinging movement about a horizontal fulcrum, and fastening means releasably securing a part of said arm to said upper end in a position in which said arm engages the top of said link member and maintains the latter in a predetermined axial position relative to said upper member wherein another part of said link member holds said locking means in engagement with said lower member whereby the members of said control rod slide and rotate as a unit in response to a swinging of said arm about said fulcrum and about the axis of said rod, respectively, said link member upon release of said fastening means being axially displaceable in said upper member for disengaging said locking means from said lower member, said arm upon release of said fastening means being rotatable with said sleeve about said upper member into a diametrically opposite position in which said part of said arm is again securable by said fastening means to said upper end.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said base isprovided with a gear-shift lock comprising a stack of limit disks and spacers alternating with said disks, said stack being axially traversed by said lower member, said disks and said specers being provided with aligned radial cuts defining a vertical channel, said lower member being provided with a pin receivable in said channel for enabling axial displacement of said lower member relative to said stack, said limit disks being provided with arcuate recesses accommodating said pin for angular motion of said lower member at a plurality of levels defined by the alignment of said pin with said disks.

9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein said sleeve is provided with indexing means for yieldably engaging said upper member in a plurality of axial positions of said control rod respectively .corresponding to said levels.

10. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said upper member is provided at its upperend with a bifurcation, said fastening means comprising a bolt removably passing through the prongs of said bifurcation and through said part of said arm, the top of said link member projecting upwardly from said upper end between said prongs, said locking means being in camming engagement with the bottom end of said link member, said control rod being provided with resilient restoring means bearing upon said locking means in a sense urging the top of said link member against said part of said arm.

11. In a driving mount for automotive vehicles, in combination, a turret of adjustable effective height comprising an upper and a lower cylinder telescoped together for relative vertical movement, a base supporting said turret, height-adjusting means on said base coupled with said upper cylinder, a gear-shift control rod of adjustable length rising within said turret, said control rod including a lower member and a tubular upper member telescopically engaging each other, an elongated link member rising within said upper member, locking means near the lower end of said upper member engageable with-said lower member for transmitting axial and angular motions of said upper member to said lower member, a sleeve engaging the upper end of said upper member with freedom of relative axial and angular motion, said sleeve being rotatably held in a top portion of said turret, an operating arm pivotally mounted on said sleeve for swinging movement about a horizontal fulcrum, fastening means releasably securing a part of said arm to said upper end in a position in which said arm engages the top of said link member and maintains the latter in a predetermined axial position relative to said upper member wherein another part of said link member holds said locking means in engagement with said lower member whereby the members of said control rod slide and rotate as a unit in response to a swinging of said arm about said fulcrum and about the axis of said rod, respectively, said link member upon release of said fastening means being axially displaceable in said upper member for disengaging said locking means from said lower member, said arm upon release of said fastening means being rotatable with said sleeve about said upper member into a diametrically opposite position in which said part of said arm is again securable by said fastening means to said upper end, at least one pedal-controlled shaft horizontally traversing said upper cylinder, a further control rod of adjustable length rising within said turret, said further control rod comprising an upper tube and a lower rod telescoped within said tube, said lower rod being provided with a plurality of axially spaced pins, said tube being provided with an internal shoulder respectively engageable by said pins in different axial positions of said tube relative to said lower rod upon said tube occupying a predetermined angular position relative to said lower rod, said tube being provided with an end upwardly projecting from said upper cylinder, a handle on said upwardly projecting end for rotating said tube into an angular position in which said pins clear said shoulder whereby said tube may be freely displaced axially on said lower rod, and coupling means interconnecting said shaft and said tube for vertically displacing the latter upon rotation of the former.

12. In a driving mount for automotive vehicles, in combination, a turret of adjustable effective height comprising an upper and a lower cylinder telescoped together for relative vertical movement, a base supporting said turret, height-adjusting means on said base coupled with said upper cylinder, a gear-shift control rod of adjustable length rising within said turret, said control rod including a lower member and a tubular upper member telescopically engaging each other, an elongated link member rising within said upper member, locking means near the lower end of said upper member engageable with said lower member for transmitting axial and angular motions of said upper member to said lower member, a sleeve engaging the upper end of said upper member with freedom of relative axial and angular motion, said sleeve being rotatably held in a top portion of said turret, an operating arm pivotally mounted on said sleeve for swingin; movement about a horizontal fulcrum, fastening means rele-asably securing a part of said arm to said upper end in a position in which said arm engages the top or" said link member and maintains the latter in a predetermined axial position relative to said upper member wherein another part of said link member holds said locking means in engagement with said lower member whereby the members of said control rod slide and rotate as a unit in response to a swinging of said arm about said fulcrum and about the axis of said rod, respectively, said link member upon release of said fastening means being axially displaceable in said upper member for disengaging said locking means from said lower member, said arm upon release of said fastening means being rotatable with said sleeve about said upper member into a diametrically opposite position in which said part of said arm is again securable by said fastening means to said upper end, a pedal-controlled brake shaft and a pedal-controlled clutch shaft horizontally traversing said upper cylinder, a brakecontrol rod and a clutch-control rod of adjustable length rising within said turret and comprising each an upper tube and a lower rod telescoped within said tube, said lower rod being provided with a plurality of axially spaced pins, said tube being provided with an internal shoulder respectively engageable by said pins in different axial positions of said tube relative to said lower rod upon said tube occupying a predetermined angular position relative to said lower rod, said tube being provided with an end upwardly projecting from said upper cylinder, a handle on said upwardly projecting end for rotating said tube into an angular position in which said pins clear said shoulder whereby said tube may be freely displaced axially on said lower rod, and coupling means linking said brake and clutch shafts with the tubes of said brakecontrol and clutch-control rods, respectively, for translating a rotation of either of said shafts into a vertical displacement of the corresponding tube.

13. The combination according to claim 12, further comprising a steering column of adjustable length rising from said base within said turret alongside said control rods and projecting upwardly from said upper cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 981,121 Sailer Jan. 10, 1911 1,175,744 Giles Mar. 14, 1916 1,268,910 Zelle June 11, 1918 1,425,723 Thomas Aug. 15, 1922 1,491,077 Beerworth Apr. 22, 1924 2,074,334 Hughes Mar. 23, 1937 2,168,215 Keitel Aug. 1, 1939 2,262,448 Boyce et al Nov. 11, 1941 2,388,873 Schwab Nov. 13, 1945 2,877,660 Rush Mar. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS $1 6,309 Great Britain Dec. 29, 1939 1,036,074 Germany Aug. 7, 1958 

